Russia allocates EUR 10M towards Pollution Prevention Initiatives

The Russian Federation's agreement means that Russia is now the biggest financial contributor to the Arctic Council's PSI - a voluntary financing instrument open to contributions from the Arctic Council member states, its observers and other interested parties.

"We want the Arctic to be clean. The Russian Federation has launched an extensive clean-up initiative to address environmental legacies impacting the Arctic. We have 194 hotspots in all of the Russian territory, including the Arctic, to address and we welcome cooperation with NEFCO, not only on financing of the Arctic initiatives but also on exchange of knowledge and opinions, and appropriate technology transfer", expressed the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation, Yuri Trutnev.

"We are extremely delighted with the fact that the Russian government is taking an active role in supporting environmental protection in the Arctic region. The financial boost provided under this agreement will enable us to finance a wide range of environmental projects in the Russian Arctic within the near future", said NEFCO's Managing Director, Magnus Rystedt.

The Project Support Instrument is managed by the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO). Projects will be selected from tangible priority projects of the Arctic Council.

Email: husamuddin.ahmadzai@nefco.fi